Jefferson Guilty (but not for “cold cash”)

The jury in the trial of former Congressman William Jefferson, infamous for the $90,000 in marked bills found in his freezer, returned a verdict late yesterday, the fifth day of their deliberations. Although Jefferson was found guilty on 11 of 16 counts the jury acquitted on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act(note that as of this posting Wikipedia is wrong on FCPA conviction) charge that related to the “cold cash” intended as a bribe to the Nigerian Vice-President.

Courtartist is me, Art Lien. I've been sketching the courts since 1976, and for most of that time the U.S. Supreme Court has been my regular beat. I've been working almost exclusively for NBC News since 1980.
Courtroom sketching is a form of visual journalism or reportage drawing that is slowly dying out. Where once upon a time news organization each had their own artist covering a story, today a "pool" artist often sketches for all. It is a demanding and stressful discipline where the drawing is often done directly and under tight deadline.